Anger in Israel after Hamas fails to return all deceased hostages

While Israel welcomed the release of all 20 surviving hostages from Gaza, frustration was growing on Tuesday over the return of only a few of the dead.

It had been expected that Hamas, the Islamist group holding the hostages, might not be able to every one of the 28 deceased immediately on Monday.

However, Israeli government officials reacted with “shock and frustration” after only four coffins were delivered, the news portal ynet said.

Israel has demanded “progress” on the issue by Tuesday evening at the latest, the Times of Israel reported, although no official confirmation of this deadline was released.

Hamas has also not issued a statement on the status of the handovers.

But sources close to the group said additional equipment and time were needed to recover the bodies from the heavily damaged Gaza Strip.

Israeli authorities do not appear to believe Hamas’s claims that it cannot locate or retrieve the dead. Instead, several Israeli media outlets reported that Israel suspects the group is holding the bodies as leverage for further negotiations.

Defence Minister Israel Katz accused Hamas on Monday of violating the ceasefire agreement and warned of unspecified consequences. Israel had fulfilled its part of the deal by releasing nearly 2,000 imprisoned Palestinians on Monday, he noted.

Bereaved family members of deceased hostages are criticizing the Israeli government.

Yael Adar, mother of Tamir Adar, called the government’s handling of negotiations with Hamas a “betrayal” and said officials failed to set an absolute deadline for the return of all bodies, the Times of Israel reported.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has called for “the immediate suspension” of the deal with Hamas until every deceased hostage is returned from Gaza.

Once returned, the dead must still be formally identified. In a previous case, Hamas returned a false body, raising concerns about verification.

Under the Gaza ceasefire agreement, all hostages, living and dead, were to be handed over on Monday.